From the drug hallucinations of Trainspotting to the teeming streets of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire and the solitary mountain ordeal of 127 Hours, Danny Boyle has brought humanity and a unique visual flair to unexpected places. Who knows what he’ll find inside the head of Steve Jobs in his upcoming bio of the Apple co-founder?

Lesli Linka Glatter has brought a sense of urgency and psychological depth to such series as The West Wing, ER, Mad Men, and Homeland—and won two DGA Awards along the way. Yet she still finds time to serve the Guild and be an advocate for diversity.

Always a bit ahead of the curve in his 40-year career, Jonathan Demme pioneered the psychological thriller in The Silence of the Lambs, caught a band at its peak in Stop Making Sense, and tackled social issues in Philadelphia. For his next act? Meryl Streep as a rock star.

In a prolific career that has taken him from the indie landmark sex, lies, and videotape to mainstream hits like Erin Brockovich, the HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, and now the cable series The Knick, Steven Soderbergh has continually reinvented himself—all the while admirably serving the Guild.

In films like Enough Said, Friends With Money and Lovely & Amazing, Nicole Holofcener has demonstrated a fearless talent for creating stories so achingly personal they have universal resonance. The joke’s on everyone.

David O. Russell loves observing the quirky, unpredictable rhythms of human behavior. It's no wonder that in films like American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter he captures the teeming intensity of real life.

David Nutter has directed 19 pilots and an unprecedented 17 have been picked up for series. How does he do it? By following his instincts, respecting his collaborators, and sticking to stories that move him.

Peter Jackson started out making low-budget splatter movies in his native New Zealand and moved on to explore new cinematic worlds in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. But no matter how far he’s gone, he’s always made it seem real.

With films like Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and three performance-capture features, Robert Zemeckis has earned a reputation as a technology pioneer. But more than anything, he's just a director looking for new means to tell good stories.

Don Mischer has been capturing great moments in popular culture—the Oscars, Olympic opening ceremonies, Super Bowl halftime shows—on live TV for more than 35 years. For his pitch perfect work he has won more DGA Awards than any other director

Thieves, assassins, mad men, whistle-blowers, and gamblers have all populated the extreme adventures of Michael Mann's films. For more than 30 years, with style and precision, he has examined the richness of human experience.

Christopher Nolan prefers film to digital, shoots with one camera, and doesn’t believe in 3-D. The director who resurrected Batman, made time go backward in Memento, and deconstructed dreams in Inception speaks his mind.

King Vidor helped bring directors together to form the Guild and became its first president during the early, perilous years. His legacy as a great filmmaker and fighter for directors' rights continues today.

Starting out in an Aussie industry that barely existed, Peter Weir has traveled the world looking for the revelatory moment and deeper truth. In films like Master and Commander and Dead Poets Society, he found people who—like himself—never play it safe.

Born in Taiwan, schooled at NYU, and trained in the trenches, Ang Lee broke new cultural ground with universal stories like Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But the one thing he won’t do is repeat himself.

Ron Howard grew up working in the business but he may be the least jaded man in Hollywood. After directing 20 movies in almost every genre and winning two DGA Awards, he still hasn’t lost his youthful enthusiasm for telling stories.

Since coming to America after the Czech Spring in 1968, Milos Forman has been committed to making movies about individuals fighting for their rights in films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The People vs. Larry Flynt.

Although he continues to be a master of special effects and new technology, James Cameron's focus is on storytelling, not flash. In the midst of shooting Avatar, his eagerly anticipated epic, he is exploring the potential of a digital 3-D feature.

Since breaking out with She's Gotta Have It in 1986, Spike Lee has tackled issues of race, class and sex in America perhaps more than any other director. But his films are not just challenging-they're also entertaining.